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Exercises

Exercises for speed: the gym work behind a faster sprint

Published October 29, 2026

Sprinting itself is the main speed exercise; the gym makes each stride push harder. The best exercises for speed are sled pushes, box jumps, one-leg hops and power cleans for fast force; trap bar deadlifts, step-ups and hip thrusts for the strength behind acceleration; Nordic hamstring curls, single-leg calf raises and cable hip flexion for the muscles that cycle the leg; and high knees and fast feet to prime the sprint. Lift two days a week after short, fully rested sprints, at 2 to 3 reps in reserve.

  1. Sled Push Quads, Glutes
  2. Trap Bar Deadlift Quads, Glutes
  3. Box Jump Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings
  4. Nordic Hamstring Curl Hamstrings
  5. Step-Up Quads, Glutes
  6. Power Clean Glutes, Hamstrings, Traps
  7. Single-Leg Calf Raise Calves

Sprint prep drills

Fast, short ground contacts are a skill. A few rounds of these before you sprint or lift switch the legs on and rehearse a tall posture with quick feet. Keep them short so they prime you rather than tire you.

Sprint posture drill

High Knees

Quads

Driving the knees to hip height while you stay tall on the balls of your feet rehearses the front side of a sprint stride. Ten to fifteen seconds at a time is enough before running.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall and start jogging in place.
  2. Drive each knee up toward hip height while your opposite arm swings forward.
  3. Stay on the balls of your feet and build the pace over the interval.

Cues

  • Knee to hip height
  • Tall chest
  • Arms pump with the legs

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to get the knees higher: keep your torso upright and lower the knee height.

Swap for: Butt Kicks, Skipping in Place, Mountain Climber

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Ground contact speed

Fast Feet

Calves, Quads

Tapping your feet as fast as you can from a crouch trains short, quick contacts and gets the calves ready for hard pushes. It is the drill to do right before a sprint or a set of jumps.

How to do it

  1. Stand in a slight crouch with your weight on the balls of your feet.
  2. Tap your feet up and down as fast as you can, staying low.
  3. Go for 20 seconds, rest briefly, and repeat if you are about to sprint.

Cues

  • Stay low
  • Fast, small steps

Common mistakes

  • Standing up tall as you speed up: keep the crouch.

Swap for: Skipping in Place, High Knees

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Fast force: resisted pushes, jumps and cleans

Speed is force put into the ground in a fraction of a second. The sled loads the forward lean of acceleration, jumps train the quick push off the floor, and the clean teaches the whole body to extend fast against a load.

Resisted acceleration

Sled Push

Quads, Glutes

Leaning into a heavy sled holds you in the forward angle of the first steps of a sprint, and you have to push hard on every step to move it. Short pushes keep it a speed exercise rather than conditioning.

How to do it

  1. Load the sled and grip the high or low handles with your arms extended.
  2. Lean in until your body forms a straight line from head to back foot.
  3. Drive the sled forward with short, powerful steps, pushing through the balls of your feet.
  4. Keep pushing for the target time, then rest fully.

Cues

  • Low body angle
  • Short, hard steps
  • Keep the arms locked

Common mistakes

  • Standing too upright so the sled stalls: lower the hips and lean in.
  • Long, loping strides: keep steps short and fast.

Swap for: Sled Pull, Air Bike, Barbell Back Squat

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Two-leg takeoff power

Box Jump

Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings

Jumping onto a box trains a fast, full push off both legs with a soft landing. For speed, the point is how quickly you leave the floor, so keep the box moderate and the reps few.

How to do it

  1. Stand a short step from a sturdy box.
  2. Dip into a quarter squat and swing the arms back.
  3. Spring onto the box and absorb the landing quietly.
  4. Straighten up on top, then step back down.

Cues

  • Quick dip
  • Soft landing
  • Step down

Common mistakes

  • Using a box so tall you land in a deep squat: lower the box.
  • Jumping tired: keep sets short.

Swap for: Jump Squat, Lateral Box Jump, Single-Leg Box Jump

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One-leg spring

Single-Leg Jump

Quads, Glutes, Calves

Running is a series of one-leg bounds, and hopping on one leg trains the same spring with a stable landing. Start with small, quick hops and lengthen them over the weeks.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot with your knee slightly bent.
  2. Hop up off that foot and land on the same foot.
  3. Stabilize, then hop again; switch legs after the set.

Cues

  • Land quiet
  • Knee over toes

Common mistakes

  • Knee folding inward on landing: hop lower until it stays in line with your foot.

Swap for: Skater Hop, Single-Leg Box Jump

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Whole-body rate of force

Power Clean

Glutes, Hamstrings, Traps

The power clean asks the ankles, knees and hips to extend as fast as they can against a barbell, the same action as a hard sprint push. Sets of 2 or 3 with a light to moderate bar keep every rep fast.

How to do it

  1. Set up like a deadlift with the bar over your midfoot and your hands just outside your legs.
  2. Lift the bar to your knees with your back flat, then drive hard through the floor as it passes your thighs.
  3. Shrug and pull yourself down under the bar, rotating your elbows forward fast.
  4. Catch it on your shoulders in a quarter squat, then stand up.

Cues

  • Slow off the floor, fast past the knees
  • Elbows fast
  • Catch high, then stand

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms early: keep them long until the legs and hips finish.
  • Catching with low elbows: whip them forward so the bar sits on your shoulders.

Swap for: Hang Clean, Clean Pull, Kettlebell Clean & Press

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Strength for acceleration

The first steps of a sprint are the slowest and the most strength-dependent. A heavy hinge, a one-leg drive and a hip extension cover the legs and glutes that push you out of a start.

Lower-body strength

Trap Bar Deadlift

Quads, Glutes

A heavy trap bar deadlift builds the hip and leg strength that acceleration depends on, from a stance close to a sprint start. The upright torso keeps lower-back fatigue low next to running.

How to do it

  1. Step inside the trap bar with the handles beside your feet.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handles.
  3. Flatten your back, take the slack out, and stand up by pushing the floor away.
  4. Lower under control. Each warm-up set adds weight toward your working sets.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Flat back
  • Slack out before you pull

Common mistakes

  • Yanking the bar off the floor: pull the slack out first.
  • Rounding the back as the weight climbs: hold the ramp until the setup is solid.

Swap for: Barbell Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Deadlift

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Single-leg drive

Step-Up

Quads, Glutes

Driving up onto a bench through one leg copies the push of a single stride, and the high step trains the knee drive of the swing leg on the way up. Keep the bottom foot quiet so the top leg does the work.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the bench with two dumbbells.
  2. Place one whole foot on the bench.
  3. Lean forward a little and push through the top foot to stand up on the bench.
  4. Bring the other foot up only to touch, then lower it back to the floor.
  5. Finish all reps on one leg before switching.

Cues

  • Whole foot on the bench
  • Push through the top heel
  • Lower slowly, do not drop

Common mistakes

  • Pushing off the floor with the back foot: that halves the work. Keep the trailing foot light.
  • Using a bench so high that your knee is far above your hip: you will rock instead of step.

Swap for: Barbell Step-Up

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Glute strength

Hip Thrust

Glutes

The glutes are the main hip extensors in a sprint, and the hip thrust loads them hardest at full extension, where a stride finishes. It is easy to load heavily without tiring the lower back.

How to do it

  1. Sit with your shoulder blades against the long side of a flat bench and roll a padded bar over your hips.
  2. Plant your feet flat about hip width apart, close enough that your shins are vertical at the top.
  3. Drive through your heels and lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line.
  4. Hold the top for a second with your chin tucked, then lower your hips most of the way down and repeat.

Cues

  • Chin tucked, ribs down
  • Shins vertical at the top
  • One-second squeeze

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get higher: stop when your hips are level with your knees and squeeze your glutes there.
  • Feet too far out, which turns it into a hamstring exercise: bring them in until your shins are vertical at lockout.

Swap for: Glute Bridge, Single-Leg Hip Thrust, Dumbbell Hip Thrust

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Hamstrings, calves and hip flexors

At top speed, the hamstrings brake and pull the leg back, the calves spring off each contact and the hip flexors swing the thigh through. These are the muscles a sprinter loads on top of the big lifts.

Hamstring strength, lowering

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

Hamstrings work hardest at top speed while lengthening to brake the swinging leg. The Nordic curl trains exactly that kind of lowering strength with body weight and a partner or anchor.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a cushion with your ankles pinned under a couch, or held by a partner, and your body upright from knees to head.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and lower your torso forward as slowly as you can, bending only at the knees.
  3. When your hamstrings can't hold you, catch yourself with your hands on the floor.
  4. Push off the floor lightly and pull with your hamstrings to come back up to kneeling.

Cues

  • Hips stay open, no folding
  • Lower as slowly as possible
  • Hands catch, then help up

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to make the lowering easier: keep a straight line from knees to shoulders.
  • Flopping to the floor after a few inches: fight it the whole way down; the slow lowering is the rep.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Band Good Morning, Superman

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Calf and ankle strength

Single-Leg Calf Raise

Calves

Each sprint stride lands on the ball of the foot, and the calf takes a big share of the landing force and springs you back off it. One-leg raises build that strength with nothing but a step.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot with the other lifted just off the floor, arms by your sides; hold a dumbbell in each hand once body weight is easy.
  2. Rise onto the ball of your foot as high as you can and hold for a second.
  3. Lower your heel to the floor over two seconds.
  4. Finish all reps on one leg, then switch; sets are per leg.

Cues

  • Rise as high as you can
  • Pause at the top
  • Two seconds down

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing through the reps: pause for a beat at the top of each one.
  • Rolling onto the outside of the foot: keep your weight over the big toe.

Swap for: Dumbbell Standing Calf Raise, Kettlebell Calf Raise, Standing Calf Raise

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Hip flexors, knee drive

Standing Cable Hip Flexion

Abs

Pulling the knee up against a cable strengthens the hip flexors that swing the thigh forward. It is the gym version of the knee drive coaches cue in every sprint drill.

How to do it

  1. Attach an ankle strap to a low pulley, strap one ankle and face away from the stack.
  2. Hold the frame for balance and stand tall on the other leg.
  3. Drive the strapped knee up toward hip height or above, then lower it slowly.

Cues

  • Tall chest
  • Knee high
  • Control the return

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to lift the knee higher.
  • Letting the stack yank the leg back.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Captain's Chair Knee Raise

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Team sport, two gym days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets33 a week
  • Per workout~50 min
  • EquipmentPlyo Box, Trap Bar, Dumbbells, Flat Bench +1

You play soccer, football, rugby or another field or court sport, you practice two or three times a week, and you want a faster first step and top speed.

Each day starts with drills and fast work while you are fresh, then one heavy lift and two leg-cycle exercises. That is 33 working sets a week, about a third of them short drills and jumps, enough to get stronger without leaving your legs heavy for practice.

Day 1: Acceleration
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Fast FeetSeconds per round. 3 × 10–15 3 45 s
Box Jump 4 × 3 3 90 s
Trap Bar Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 4 × 3–5 2 3 min
Step-UpPer leg. Drive the free knee up at the top. 3 × 6–8 2 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–5 2 2 min

Open Day 1: Acceleration in the session builder

Day 2: Top speed
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
High KneesSeconds per round. 3 × 10–15 3 45 s
Single-Leg JumpPer leg. 3 × 4–5 3 75 s
Power Clean3 warm-up sets first 4 × 2–3 3 2:30 min
Hip Thrust1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–8 2 2 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min

Open Day 2: Top speed in the session builder

How to run it
Lift on two non-consecutive days that are not the day before a game. If you do sprint work the same day, sprint first, rest 15 minutes, then start with the box jumps or hops.
How to progress
Add 5 to 10 pounds to the trap bar deadlift and hip thrust when every set reaches the top of the rep range at 2 reps in reserve. Add sled weight when each push feels fast for the full time. Nordic curls progress by lowering more slowly before you catch yourself.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

One session a week, no Olympic lifts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentSled, Trap Bar, Dumbbells, Flat Bench +1

You play a weekend league or pickup games, you are past your early twenties, and you want to stay quick without learning cleans or doing a lot of jumping.

One session of 15 sets covers resisted acceleration, a heavy hinge, a one-leg drive and the hamstring, calf and hip flexor work. Hamstrings and calves get the most attention because they take the hardest load when an adult who rarely sprints suddenly runs flat out.

Weekly speed session
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Sled PushSeconds per push. 4 × 10–15 2 2 min
Trap Bar Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 3 × 5–6 2 2:30 min
Step-UpPer leg. 2 × 8–10 2 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 2 × 3–6 2 2 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 2 × 10–15 2 1 min
Standing Cable Hip FlexionPer leg. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min
How to run it
Do it once a week, three or more days before your game. Warm up with a few minutes of easy movement and two sled pushes at half effort.
How to progress
Add sled weight and trap bar weight when every set feels fast at the target reps in reserve. Add one rep to the Nordic curls every two weeks until you reach 6, then lower more slowly.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Sprints at a field, strength at home

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Flat Bench

You have a track, field or quiet road to sprint on but no gym, and you want to get faster with body weight and a bench or step.

Without heavy weights, the hops, step-ups, Nordic curls and calf raises carry the strength work, and the sprints do the rest. The session is 15 sets with about 30 one-leg hops, short enough to do right after your sprints twice a week.

After sprints
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
High KneesSeconds per round. 3 × 10–15 3 45 s
Single-Leg JumpPer leg. 3 × 4–6 3 75 s
Step-UpPer leg. 3 × 10–15 2 75 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–5 2 2 min
Single-Leg Calf RaisePer leg. 3 × 12–20 1 1 min
How to run it
Twice a week: warm up, run 4 to 8 sprints of 10 to 30 meters with full walk-back rest, then do this session on the same day. Keep at least one day between sessions.
How to progress
Hops progress by distance per hop. Step-ups progress by reps, then by holding a loaded backpack. Nordic curls progress by lowering more slowly, calf raises by holding a weight once 20 reps is easy.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What exercises help make you faster?

Sprinting is first. In the gym, the most useful are heavy hinges such as the trap bar deadlift, single-leg work such as step-ups, explosive work such as sled pushes, jumps and power cleans, and hamstring and calf strength from Nordic curls and calf raises.

How do you do sprint training for speed?

Warm up well, then run 4 to 8 sprints of 10 to 40 meters at full effort with long rest, walking back slowly between reps. Stop when your sprints start getting slower. Twice a week is enough.

Does lifting weights make you slower?

Not when you lift for strength and power. Heavy lower-body strength and fast lifts are part of most sprint programs. What slows you is lifting to exhaustion right before running, or adding a lot of body weight in a short time.

Can you get faster at home?

Yes, if you have somewhere to sprint. Short sprints plus one-leg hops, step-ups, Nordic curls and calf raises cover most of what a gym adds. The home plan above is built that way.

How often should you train for speed?

Two sprint sessions and two lifting sessions a week suit most people, and they can share a day: sprint first, lift after. Leave at least one easy day between hard leg days.